Harwich Radio Direction Finding Tower

About the museum

The Harwich tower was built shortly before April 1941 as one of ten radio direction finding sites around the United Kingdom, which covered important rivers, docks and harbours. Radio direction finding was renamed radar around 1943. The tower was used to watch the naval minefield across the Essex and Suffolk estuary: the range and bearing of ships were passed to posts where the mines could be detonated. It served as a minewatch installation from April 1941 to December 1943 and was probably used once, in October 1941, to direct guns at Beacon Hill Battery.

After it closed in 1943 the building was left to decay. When the Harwich Society took it over, it found a jumble of metal and a subsiding structure. Volunteers reassembled the metal into the top-floor array and stabilised the building, and the tower was opened to visitors for the first time in 2012.

It is described as a unique survivor and is believed to be the only Type 287 array in the world. The top floor holds the array with its two reflectors, the middle floor the operations room with the manual rotating gear, and the ground floor a generator room, crew accommodation and mess room. The tower stands less than 40 metres from the coast, close to Beacon Hill Fort.

Highlights

• Type 287 radio direction finding array, the only one believed to survive
• Operations Room with manual rotation gear
• Generator room and crew accommodation
• Beacon Hill Fort and 1890 position finding cells nearby

Permanent exhibitions

• Type 287 radio direction finding array – The largely original array on the top floor, with two reflectors, believed to be the only surviving example of its type.
• Operations Room – The middle floor, with the manual device that turned the array.
• Generator room and crew quarters – The ground floor, with the generator room, accommodation, mess room and lobby.

Founded

2012

Operated by

Harwich Society (registered charity 1161931)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free; donations are always welcome.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Disabled access is limited because of the age and layout of the building. Dogs are welcome at the owner’s discretion and must be kept under control. The tower’s original toilet has been removed, so there is no visitor toilet in the tower.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The tower stands on a ridge on the eastern side of Harwich, parallel to the sea wall and facing Felixstowe docks, about 100 metres from Beacon Hill Fort. The main entrance is the double doors of the former generator room on the ground floor. Grid reference TM 262 319; what3words select.shadowing.pads.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit